IN BED WITH ARMY, CAN WARS BE COVERED OBJECTIVELY? (2008)

Title: In Bed With Army, Can Wars Be Covered Objectively?
Writer: Akhmad Kusaeni
Editor: Qusyaini Hasan
Publisher: Editor’s Syndicate, Jakarta
Printed: I, 2008
Content: 200 pages

This book you are now reading is originally a piece of Master Project or Thesis written by Akhmad Kusaeni, Deputy Editor in Chief of Antara, Indonesian News Agency.

Ateneo de Manila University is the oldest and a leading university in the Philippines, where almost prominent person in the country graduated from this Jesuit University, such as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Benigno Aquino. Pinoy says that only rich and scholar can study at Ateneo. Mr. Kusaeni is fortunate that he was scholar who gets fellowship from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. He started study in 2003 and graduated in 2005.

He wrote a Thesis on embedded journalists with case study on military operation in Aceh (Indonesia) and Mindanao (Philippines). Embedded journalism is an intriguing issue. It has raised concern for the practice of ethical and good journalism. Questions of journalistic objectivity are raised in practice of embedding reporters in military units as they go to war. When journalists and army personnel work together, eat together and sleep together, can war be covered objectively? This book has answer for the question.

The other articles in this book are also based from Mr. Kusaeni’s academic work when pursuing his Master of Arts degree. Every semester, he had to submit a final paper on various issues, such as relations between media and politics, media and gender, or media and new technology.

This book will be useful for media communities, academician or just ordinary people.